The Next Life
by Tony Branston
Summary: Maria reacts to the "Rebirth" ending, and reveals some things about herself. A bit of speculation.


**_If you didn't know "Silent Hill" was an intellectual property of Konami...now you do._**

* * *

She was sitting by the lake at Rosewater Park when she first saw it. At first, she thought it was just debris; she first realized it was a boat as she watched the speed it made along the lakeshore, whereupon she got up to give it a closer look.

The first thing Maria saw was the man who had just killed her. James had seemed so resigned…almost confident when they had met for the last time atop of the Lakeview Hotel. Perhaps he had finally surrendered to the truth, and now he was ready to surrender to justice. No doubt he was going to jump into the lake at any moment…with Mary's corpse to help weigh him down apparently.

Indeed, at any moment he was going to take his late wife into his arms and jump into the water. Yes, he was only rowing out further to insure that he couldn't wash up on the shore before he was dead…there was nowhere else for him to go…right?

She looked as far ahead as she could, her vision cutting through the fog. James appeared to be heading towards…of all places…the island of the abandoned chapel. How did he even know it was there?

What the hell was he planning to do?

She felt her master's presence, silently taking a physical form. Turning around, Maria saw him as a glowing form obscured under a crimson robe. "You seemed troubled. A curious thing…considering that your services are done."

The woman remained unmoved. "You didn't tell me James would be doing this. Why is he heading to the island?"

"You don't know already?"

Maria tried to find anything on Xuchilbara's manifestation that would betray what he was thinking. Without any results forthcoming, she continued; "No…"

Now he gently shook his head. His voice complimented this with a pitying, condescending tone. "I thought you were brighter than that! Were you not paying attention to what James was doing? Perhaps you have forgotten what James was doing before he gave up on Mary?"

Maria remained speechless. "I guess in the fog it might have gone over you when James found a copy of one of our converted's texts. You are familiar with it, no? After all, you saw one when this whole incident began."

Still, nothing her lord said seemed to make sense. He continued, "In was in Mary's final week. The days before James committed the deed, he looked back at his days in this town, and soon found himself obsessing over it to try and keep his mind from…uncomfortable truths. It was in this time that he discovered a few things about our heritage, besides the trappings of the executioner that has confronted you."

Maria stared, mystified. "I don't understand…"

"Tell me, my dear, why did James come to this town in the first place?"

"…he…wanted to die?"

Xuchilbara's light briefly began to flicker and intensify, accompanied by what sounded like laughter. "You can understand he cannot live without Mary, I see, but you seem to be thinking about this from the wrong perspective."

The unthinkable notion finally occurred to Maria. "He wants Mary back?"

"Yes, my child! He has wanted Mary back this whole time, whether or not he's been aware of it!" Maria was so drained by his revelation that she fell to the ground before her lord as he continued the tale. "This whole time his mind has lead him towards the elements of resurrection. The moment he forsook you for the last time he finally allowed himself to remember it all."

His agent remained stunned, glancing to the island. "You are allowing this?"

"Those two have all suffered enough. It is only fitting that they be relieved of pain by seeing the truths I can offer them."

Maria looked up to him, still shocked. "But…he sinned…you're just allowing him to live freely despite what he's done?"

"If that was my intention, I would never have brought him to you in the first place. Rest assured, he has remorse for his actions."

Now Maria stood up. "You can't be serious! He's still a murderer!"

Xuchilbara paused for a moment. "I understand you have strong feelings about this sort of thing, but I know James better than you. He's no rapist. He does not abuse women. He actually is a good man. I'm surprised to hear pleas for vengeance from _you_ of all people…and you've benefited so much for my mercy."

Maria was speechless. "But I didn't do anything. I lived a good life…I never hurt anyone!"

"And I know that. Regardless, you were not one of us. I would have rescued you…eventually, but if it was not for your privileged position I would not have taken you to safety so quickly. How long would you have liked to be trapped in the otherworld with the rest of the lost souls, slowly dragging you down to their sad level?"

There was nothing left to say. "I'm sorry…"

"Just reflect upon it for a while…I have given you the life you wanted, haven't I? Finally, you can actually make a positive difference in people's lives, and you can avenge everything that the doctor did to you all those years. Even better, you can fulfill all the roles you can imagine, just like you've wanted since your childhood!"

To help drive his final point home, he rested an ethereal hand on her shoulder. "Now tell me, Miss Garland, is there any reason you think any person in this world should be denied this sort of life?"

The argument was lost, and she conceded. "No."

His point made, the red robe began to walk away and disappear into the fog. "You can return to your true form any time you wish. I'm certain you'll want to tell Alessa of all your adventures today, my dear…"


End file.
